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9.19.2006

Mars Volta always held such potential, and I don't think they've ever attained it. Obviously they proved that they were the most important members of At the Drive-In, but that hasn't translated into the Led Zeppelin-like levels of popularity they surely deserve. It actually seems like Mars Volta are turning into a jam-band of sorts, which is just plain wrong.

If people can get behind Tool, and their last album made by hippies, "10000 Days," then surely rock radio can embrace Mars Volta's own monster epics.

Sure, while the band released their most radio friendly song "The Widow," for their last album, they also put the song smack in the middle of a 20 minute long drone, followed by a half hour song. Frances the Mute made several improvements over Deloused in the Comatorium, but it seriously derailed this band.

Thank goodness that they found their way back on track with Amputechture, and yes they continue to use their trademark "made up/obscure/foreign/classical" language, it now sounds like the Mars Volta are actually singing about something, and not strung-together out of a thesaurus nonsense.

And yes, it rocks. I'll admit that this band is the reason I'm going to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers two nights in a row here in Toronto, just because Mars Volta is opening up and John Frusciante will probably play guitar with them!

9.10.2006

I've been listening to the new TV on the Radio album, Return to Cookie Mountain for the last couple weeks, listening to the album end to end at least once a day... I can't even write a review yet, I'm so intimidated by the material.

The one thing I've been wondering is how they are going to pull off the amazing studio trickery, but after hearing this live MP3 (found via FoeWeel!!!???) of "Wolf Like Me," I all of a sudden have discovered that these songs really are just straight up rock songs... they rock, at times like the Stooges, or hell, even Led Zeppelin! I never even realized it, and it was there all along. Do yourself a favour and fall in love with this band, now.

9.08.2006

First Person Shooter are one of the first Toronto bands I've found for a while that sounds truly genuine in what they do... with no concern about how "cool" they sound or what trend is worth chasing... I can imagine that these people are all normal, and have real friends not inside a "music scene." And these days, I find that a really important, grounding quality. In a way, bands like that are more "indie" than these polished "not-polished" acts who are getting by on their friends and mutual "cred contests."

But with that said, First Person Shooter all out rocks... this is a band that will be more comfortable on the Edge than slumming it at Sneaky Dees. If they keep up with it, polish up their sound and beef up their guitars, then I think they'll really have something. Also, it's really refreshing to have some girls join the all-boy club that rock and roll gets like in this city.

To tell you the truth, I don't think I'd call this one hip-hop, as Beck Hansen has been calling it lately. Sure, it's got a pretty slick groove, but this is almost way too complex and experimental to just be called "hip hop." It's more along the lines of super freaky nu-Prince kind of stuff. Also, dig the phone tone rocking out a mini solo! And for anyone speculation about if this song about the music played in elevators -- think of it instead as a Beckified response to U2's "Elevation."

But this so-so track begs the question -- is Beck over? Sure Guero was kind of cool and all, but nothing that makes you want to run out and scream to the world Beck's mindboggling greatness. As for the new album, "The Information," which is due out in October, I'm going to reserve judgement.

9.07.2006

Am I going overboard with the whole Kevin Federline thing? Well, back on December 31 of 2005 I declared 2006 the year of K.Fed, so I feel like I have to live up to it. Anyways, here's the man performing LIVE on Ellen. Surprisingly AMAZING. I like the heavy guitars, but for somebody who made his living as a back-up dancer, he seems uncomfortable on stage. Where's the swagger K.Fed.

Good Weather for Airstrikes has a pretty good rundown of this brewing controversy. He claims that this new MP3 (or at least his "source" asserts) that this is indeed a Postal Service demo, and features Jimmy Tamberello singing. Apparently the new album, possibly scheduled to be released in early 2007, is going to be divided in thirds, with Jimmy, Ben and Jenny all singing a third.

My take? The song is definately a fake. If so, the Postal Service are "selling out" in a big way (if it's really possible for them to sell out at all at this point). The song is just too straight forward, and at times almost like a Postal Service parody. Just too sugary, not enough heartbreak and salt. Also, no real guitars or live drums that would indicate someone like Ben Gibbard would have left his marks on the track either... sham!

But on the other hand, you never know. So download it anyways... what do you have to lose?

9.06.2006

Toronto's own Fire Hydrant are growing into their own skin as one of the city's latest grunge powerhouses. Still uncommited to a particular sound, Fire Hydrant explores textures familiar to bands like Radiohead and Pink Floyd. Strumming guitars sound like waves slowly crashing upon a sandy beach as the boyant attitude of the band keeps the music from getting too waterlogged. Vocals surface and echo off shimmering rock faces, the band's moody midnight sky atmosphere undisturbed. But it's not all serious... check out "Robots for Dinner" to ensure that the band still has a sense of humour.

Yeah, I mentioned the new grunge thing before... so here's my take, you'll find that Fire Hydrant fall more on the side of punkless-Nirvana than Pearl Jam riffage, but their similarity to the moodiness of Soundgarden's later tracks emphasize Fire Hydrant's musical relevance to this mid-90s sound.

With time I hope that the band can grow into more mature songwriting, showcasing songs that can better reflect their obvious enthusiasm and creativity. If the drums were stepped up a level or two, this group could inherit a totally bombastic sound.

9.05.2006

Any self-respecting mix-tape maker would have already heard a few tracks from Sufjan's large body of Christmas songs while assembling their own "holiday" mix, so the emergence of this album should come as no surprise. I don't blame Asthmatic Kitty for cashing in, considering that a) These tracks are downloaded like crazy every year and b) Sufjan Stevens is still insanely popular, backlash be damned. You can read about all the details of the five-disc set, which includes stickers, essays, lyrics sheets and chord charts, and oh yeah, the music, right here. But, if you're the Grinch who wants to steal Christmas from Sufjan, you can download 3 of the EPs here at Irresponsible Journalism.

Personally, I'm pretty excited about the release of this set. Besides the annual Pedro the Lion 7 inch releases, no one is really doing interesting, heartfelt holiday songs. So as they say, the more the merrier.

9.04.2006

Even though noise legends To Live and Shave in LA were the headliners Saturday night at Sneaky Dees, they felt like strangers intruding into a celebration of the best in Toronto's experimental noise scene.

The first band of the night started with local Bad Bands Revolution stalwarts Dollarama, who if you haven't heard, perform exclusively with instruments purchased for a dollar or less. At first, it felt a little silly, with one of the band members seemingly really smug in their self-aware cleverness, but after a few songs set in and Eric Warner's natural charisma took over, making the performance more joyous, like kids banging on pots and pans.

Following Dollarama was Polmo Polpo, a solo project by Sandro Perri, who is all over the Toronto music scene, between collaborating with Great Lake Swimmers and Glissandro 70. Perri's 45 long set, which was one long continuous drone was a standout performance of the night... there was no "banter" or jokes, just the start of the sound with lots of manipulation and bone shaking bass. I didn't pick up a CD that night, but I plan on searching for it at local record stores, and would definitely check out another Polmo Polpo show in the future. A definite do not miss artist.

Next up was the somewhat homecoming of Gastric Female Reflex, returning from a European tour and making a triumphant return home. Last time I was able to catch GFR was last winter at the Horseshoe opening for Wolf Eyes, which really sparked my enthusiasm for their brand of distorted crackle and burn. The band apparently now only features two members, Andrew and Jacob, and now have a stripped now approach, leaving behind the clutter and relying on samplers and tape machines. But judging from the band's performance, they possess more bombast and out-of-control firepower than ever before... it seems their time overseas has purified the band's sound and turned it into a dark and twisted treasure. The way these guys rock out, it's only a matter of time before they break out in a big way.

By the time To Live and Shave and LA went on stage around one am, most of the crowd had been enduring noise for over 4 hours, thanks to the amazing DJ work of Andrew from GFR. You could say that some enthusiasm had waned, and mine certainly waned. It was cool to see Andrew W-K dress like my uncle, incognito with ball cap, sunglasses and shorn (yes!), shaved face. Unfortunately, while the audience seemed to crave more noise, TLASILA only really presented a passionate form of industrial alternative music, that was way more melodic than anyone expected. While it was awesome to watch Andrew WK rock out the keyboard, hypnotically thrusting back in forth, his instrument and the lead vocals from a very impassioned front man were just way too high in the mix for my taste. It was just too.... musical. Mind you, I picked up Wigmakers anyway, their ten years in the making epic, and that album is simply amazing.... unlike what I heard on Saturday night.

I suppose if I was a bigger fan, or a TLASILA nostalgia craver, then I'm sure I would have been into it more as well. But the opening bands came through and made the night really special.

9.03.2006

Yeah, this is a pretty amazing song that I figured should be brought to your attention. If you recognize the riff, you'd know that Dave Chapelle used the song for his "intro" music that he came out to on his show, and if you saw his "block party," you'd have seen their cameo. I heard these guys were 5-percenters but I don't know how true that rumour is. Anyways, I've been meaning to check this one out for a while, and I was inspired to dig this one up after a quiet night checking out the "Black Howard Dean" sketch. I know that doesn't really make sense, but it makes sense in my world. Also, if you have any idea how they made they great bass riff, drop me aline. By the way, XXL has a great YouTube based feature about banned rap videos. Check it out here.

Face it, you either love or hate Danko Jones. Very rarely does someone have a lukewarm reaction to this hard rocking trio, because Danko's rock and roll motivational speaker attitude can easily polarize. I personally fall on the side of all out loving Danko Jones, and it's truly a shame that he doesn't get more respect in Canada or Toronto, while he's able to find massive success in Europe. One day he's going to leave and never come back. I happened to catch a few Danko Jones clips on YouTube and I thought that as the summer winds down, you got to get some hard rock in before it cools down too much.

Danko just released "Sleep is the Enemy" this year, and here's a couple tracks from that album.

9.01.2006

I don't know why I never latched onto this band yet... I'm an unashamed White Stripes fan, and I've been relucant to see who Jack White is standing behind now. After watching the band on the VMAs last night, they really, really impressed me and I've spent the morning checking out more YouTube clips from the band. If you haven't listened to them yet, they are suprisingly awesome.

When the Killers have been talking about their new album, Brandon Flowers said how Springsteen influenced their new album.... and after finally hearing "When You Were Young," I'd say my verdict is that it's a fair statement. Really, the key similar "sounds" are fairly obvious, from the use of Springsteen's short delay on his vocals to their melodic keyboard lines that rise above propulsive drums. The way Flowers even phrases his lines sounds like Springsteen.

But, with that being said, I still think that the track is more or less that same Killers sound they had on their first album... the glam, chime guitar parts, explosive drums and dramatic, yet radio friendly, showmanship.

This is the Killers "When You Were Young"

For a close approximation, here's Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," which is stylistically similar... the vocal urgency and echo and propulsive drums.

A good example of the epic bombast that the Killers can be found in Springsteen's "Saint in the City"

Again, another great example of what the Killers seem to be going for.... "Jackson Cage"